iContact is headquartered in the Triangle region of North Carolina — the heart of NCAA basketball country, with powerhouses Duke, UNC, and NC State just 20 miles down the road. Interoffice rivalries are heating up at iContact as we pick our favorite teams and join in on the excitement of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, also known as March Madness.

As the nation gets swept up in basketball fever, here are a few tips to help score a slam-dunk with your online marketing strategy.

Location, Location, Location

As fans start gathering at their favorite locations to watch teams face off, marketers have a ripe opportunity to increase sales with location-based services. Social media check-in services like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places can help boost sales during March Madness. When consumers “check in” at a venue, their location can be shared with all of their friends on Facebook and Twitter, helping to increase awareness for a business.

Brick-and-mortar businesses should also consider offering freebies to patrons who check in at their venue. If one person talks about that freebie on his or her social networks, it could entice his or her friends to swing by and also check in, ultimately garnering loyal customers and more cash in the register. When a user checks in at a location, he or she can also see nearby specials that translate into increased awareness for the entire area.

Optimize for Mobile

While many would like to stay glued to the television and catch all of the games, the reality is that other commitments pull us away — work, errands, personal obligations, etc. Consumers are constantly on the go and increasingly using smartphones to stay connected. This trend can only rise as technology continues to advance for phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

You can bet that basketball fans will turn to their mobile devices to get up-to-date stats on games as they go about their daily activities. When checking on scores and waiting for updates, chances are that consumers will also browse through their emails. March Madness is a great time for marketers to make sure emails are optimized for mobile devices. Provide appealing content that will capture your readers’ attention while they’re checking in on the go.

Treat Your Customers Like Your Teammates

Players must communicate with their teammates to be effective and get the big win. To win big in social media marketing, treat your customers like teammates, and talk with them, not at them. Comment on relevant information on followers’ walls and re-tweet interesting material. Make your posts conversational to avoid feeling like a sales pitch, and customers will be more inclined to read and share your social media posts.

Take the Madness to the Pinboard

Pinterest is a favorite for personal use and is also gaining momentum as an online community for the businesses world. If your product is visual and aesthetically pleasing, give Pinterest a try. Maybe you’re a retailer and sell apparel in team colors, own a catering business and have recipes that would win over a hungry crowd during basketball watch parties, or are a general contractor with great ideas for remodeling a family room fit to watch the Final Four.

Manage the Clock

Don’t get a penalty for poor time management or be a slave to the clock. If you’re a basketball fan and don’t want to miss out on any of the March Madness action while still staying on top of social media, use iContact to schedule your updates in advance. You can create and schedule tweets and Facebook posts before a game begins so you don’t find yourself sitting in front of a computer when you’d rather be sitting in front of a big screen watching a game.

Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be ready for March Madness action to tip off on the court and in your online marketing activities. Are you doing anything special around March Madness? Share it with us below!

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